ABSTRACT

Abstract: Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and low cognitive functioning tend to demonstrate regulatory responses to auditory sensations, leading to disturbed behaviours such as self-stimulation, stereotypical movements, even aggression and self-harm. The aim of this study was to investigate whether listening to specific sounds and music reduced these behaviours. A systematic observational study of 16 participants was carried out with parental consent. A range of music types and sounds were played to participants including dissonant music (contemporary classical with dissonant chords), consonant music (classical romantic with consonant chords) and ambient sounds. Intermittent periods of silence between tracks were introduced to check for any potential influence of previous listening. It was noted that disturbed behaviour was least evident during periods of ‘silence’ (without additional auditory input), compared to any of the other conditions. Silence was therefore used as a baseline before listening to any sounds. Consonant music appeared to decrease disturbed behaviours compared with the other types of music and proved more effective than silence. These findings suggest that using specific types of music might help decrease some disturbed behaviour.

摘要

摘要：自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）和认知功能低下的人倾向于表现出对听觉的调节反应，导致诸如自我刺激、刻板运动、甚至攻击和自残等干扰行为。这项研究的目的是调查听特定的声音和音乐是否会减少这些行为。在父母同意的情况下，对 16 名参与者进行了系统的观察性研究。向参与者播放了一系列音乐类型和声音，包括不和谐音乐（带有不和谐和弦的当代古典音乐）、辅音音乐（带有和弦的古典浪漫主义）和环境声音。引入了音轨之间的间歇性静默期，以检查先前收听的任何潜在影响。值得注意的是，与任何其他条件相比，在“沉默”期间（没有额外的听觉输入），受干扰的行为最不明显。因此，在听任何声音之前，沉默被用作基线。与其他类型的音乐相比，辅音音乐似乎可以减少受干扰的行为，并且证明比静音更有效。这些发现表明，使用特定类型的音乐可能有助于减少一些不安的行为。